Social Work
Major and Minor Requirments
The undergraduate major in social work prepares students for beginning professional social work practice and is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.
Social Work Major
The social work major consists of ten core courses: Introduction
to Social Work 200; History of Social Welfare Policy and Programs
210; Human Behavior in the Social Environment 240; Social Welfare
Research 300; Social Welfare Policy Analysis 310; Social Work
Practice I 320; Social Work Practice II 330; Social Work Practice
III 420; Integrative Seminar in Social Work 430; and Field
Placement in Social Work 460. In addition, four supporting
courses are required: SOCI 141, PSYC 150, SOCS 233, ECON 324, or
ECON 325.
Recommended:
To meet CSWE guidelines, BIOL 260 Human Anatomy or PSYC 310
Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience can fulfill Natural
Science distributional requirements. CSWE further recommends POLS
240 American Government to meet Social Science distribution
requirements, and SOCW 220 Child Welfare and SOCW 471: Topics:
Research Seminar for the major.
Senior Thesis
All students will complete a senior research
thesis.
Admission to Social Work Program
Students may apply for admission after completion of SOCW 200
with a grade of "B" or better and should submit the Social Work
Admission Form and three references to department chair Linda S.
Noer. All forms are found in the Student Social Work Handbook.
Students must maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 2.50 on a 4.0 scale
at the time of admission and throughout their academic career. In
addition, they must obtain grades no lower than "C-" in required
courses for the social work major.
They must complete a declaration of major form (from the Registrar's office) and be assigned to a social work department faculty advisor; obtain a copy of current transcript (unofficial copy is available at no charge in the Registrar's Office); complete the Writing Skills Assessment administered by the Writing Center; and schedule an admissions interview with a committee of the social work faculty.
Prior to acceptance into senior level courses, faculty will review students' evaluations and commitment to pursue Senior Field Placement. To enroll in senior classes, students must demonstrate social work skills, values, and ethics in supervisory practice and academic settings. Academic and non-academic performance requirements are defined in the Student Social Work Handbook. Non-academic standards measure a student's "likely performance as a social work generalist practitioner." Termination from the program is based on the student's failure to demonstrate professional conduct and behavior consistent with the values and ethics of the profession. However, knowledge, skill, and value expectations are all academic in a professional program.
Social Work Course Work
The social work major consists of 10 social work courses and 4 supporting courses.
Social Work Major Requirements
SOCW 200 Introduction to Social Work 2 cr.
SOCW 210 History of Social Welfare Policy and Programs 2 cr.
SOCW 240 Human Behavior in the Social Environment 4 cr.
SOCW 300 Social Welfare Research 4 cr.
SOCW 310 Social Welfare Policy Analysis 4 cr.
SOCW 320 Social Work Practice I 4 cr.
SOCW 330 Social Work Practice II 4 cr.
SOCW 420 Social Work Practice III 4 cr.
SOCW 430 Integrative Seminar 4 cr.
SOCW 460 Field Placement in Social Work 8 cr.
Four Supporting Courses (Required)
SOCI 141 Principles of Sociology 4 cr.
PSYC 150 Intro to Psychology 4 cr.
SOCS 233 Behavioral Research Statistics 4 cr.
Choice of one:
ECON 324 Public Finance 4 cr.
ECON 325 Economics of Poverty and Inequality 4 cr.
Honors in the Major
Please see department chair for details. Basic requirements are listed under All College Programs in the catalog.